


Devious Butlers: Season 1

by DeviousPeep



Series: Devious Butlers [1]
Category: Devious Maids (TV), Original Work
Genre: Wikia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-19
Updated: 2016-06-19
Packaged: 2018-11-12 18:54:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11168001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeviousPeep/pseuds/DeviousPeep
Summary: Lives are forever changed when local butler Jose Sanchez is murdered mysteriously at the height of the social season in the home of Jorgio and Alison Del Barrio. It seems like they're going to have to find new help, but first Jose's friends congregate to deal with the crisis. Josh struggles to win a power battle with his employer. Rena strives for greatness but can't rise from under the thumb of maid Justine. And the object of Ben's desires seems unobtainable in a time where his bosses are acting more secretive than ever.





	Devious Butlers: Season 1

**Teaser**

_Wikerly Hills_   
_June 2016_   
_9:48 PM_

We are treated to a shot from under the water of a pool where, above the surface, an extravagant party is seen taking place. The camera makes its way up out of the pool and scans across the multiple guests, rising into the late evening sky, moving past balconies and the like, exploring just how large the house actually is, and the shot finally settles on Jorgio Del Barrio, who's staring out of a window on one of the upper levels of his house, looking down at the party he's hosting which is happening below. The first line of the series is spoken by Mr. Del Barrio: "I think what you people do is admirable." Jorgio then turns his head, letting go of the curtain at the window, and, all the while approaching something, continues in saying, "You chauffeur cars you can't afford, you prepare lavish meals you are forbidden to feast upon, you serve wine to people who don't bother to learn your last name, and still you dare to dream of a better life. I am still shocked by your determination to succeed in this great country of ours, that said... if you threaten me again I'm going to have you whacked. _Capisce_?" We see now that he is talking to his butler, Jose Sanchez, who stares back at his boss with a blank stare, being dressed in a stereotypical butler's uniform, and is very well-groomed. Jose looks to his left, not saying a word, but his eyes make contact with Mrs. Del Barrio, or, Alison. The woman, clearly much younger than her husband, says nothing aloud. However, her facial expression speaks for her as she is clearly hurt and scared. She's tearing up, but has it under enough control to prevent herself from full-on crying. Jorgio turns to her, asking, "Ali, is there anything  _you_ wish to say to Jose?" It takes her a moment, but she quickly shakes her head. Jose is disgusted, but Jorgio speaks up that now they can put this whole thing behind them and move on with their lives. Though, as he and Ali prepare to exit the room, Jorgio turns his butler and exclaims, "Obviously, from this moment forward, when I ask you to scrub the toilets, you will do it." With that, the Del Barrios exit, and Jose is left defeated.

_9:53 PM_

"Alison, Jorgio," a voice calls out, as the Del Barrios have just rejoined their party. The couple turn to see another couple coming their way, that being Matthew and Joanna Winters, the latter of whom called out for her friends. They embrace, with Matthew and Jorgio shaking hands as their two wives kiss one another's cheeks. "So sorry for missing you at the club these past couple weeks," Joanna exclaims, "Matthew and I have been in Barbados this whole time." Matthew adds on to his wife, stating to the Del Barrios that he had gotten some time off work and decided to surprise his beloved with an impromptu trip. "Isn't he the sweetest?" Jo speaks, with glee, as she gives her husband a kiss. "Oh most certainly..." Jorgio replies, not all that interested; he takes a glass of wine off a tray of one of the servers, Justine Dussault, who passes by.

_10:12 PM_

Meanwhile, back in an upstairs room of the Del Barrios' mansion, Jose has bitterly abandoned his chores and has kicked back in one of his boss' fine chairs. He cracks open a bottle of one of the expensive bottles of wine and begins to pour.

_10:34 PM_

"Oh it was just magnificent!" Joanna says to a large group of guests, describing and her Matthew's trip. The Del Barrios are there, but Ali looks and sees someone else headed over. She steps aside where she greets another of her friends, Elizabeth Davis, who hands over an envelope. "For the retards-- I mean mentally handicapped... It's a check. So sorry! Eli and I have a flight to catch so I could only pay the quick drop-in."

_11:02 PM_

"So Jorgio, a gala for the mentally retarded? I never knew you took such an interest," Matthew exclaims with a smirk, holding out his glass for server Justine to refill. Jorgio can tell his friend's insincerity; "You know as well as I do that you can't get away without giving something to some sort of charity in this town. You have yours, and I have mine." They look over where a group of people with down syndrome stand, talking. Matthew decides to move on from this topic though, and asks how things have been going in Jorgio's own personal life. "Ugh, today, dreadful. I just found out that my butler, Jose, has _feelings.._. how despicable. We should've kept the maid, but they're just so… 2013." Matthew can certainly agree to that, at the same time that Justine looks disdainful in the background. However, nearby, one mentally handicapped person - Tyson Jepsen - has overheard what Jorgio and Matthew are discussing. He looks around to make sure no one is looking and starts to head inside the house.

_11:09 PM_

"Well cheers to the last of this," Jose slurs, topping off his glass with the remainder of Jorgio's wine, before dropping the empty bottle on the floor. As he dangerously guzzles down the remaining drink he slurs allowed, "He's gonna pay for this, the miserable son of a bitch... and that whore too." He burps. Unbeknownst to him though, back at the door to the room in which Jose is currently in, the shadow of a figure can be seen, as well as the raising of a knife. "Those damn Del Barrios won't even see it coming," Jose says... which also happens to be the _last_  thing he says. Coming up behind him, not even allowing him a chance to realize what is going on, the unseen figure grabs a hold of the butler and stabs him the chest repeatedly, shoving him to the ground. It's all a blur for Jose; he doesn't know what has just happened, but he knows he doesn't have much time left. As the unseen assailant goes to finish the butler off, Jose is able to kick them away and manages to get to his feet and head for the balcony to call out to the party for help, knowing he won't make it downstairs. As he goes to shout, however, the assailant has also gotten back up, and Jose is stabbed once more, this time in the throat, and is promptly thrown over the balcony where his body lands into the pool, turning the water blood red. Everyone at the party lets out a gasp... and, not too long after, Tyson Jepsen comes running out of the house, holding the knife used to kill Jose Sanchez. There's complete and utter silence for a moment. "Well," Jorgio finally says, "at least we know the butler didn't do it."

_DEVIOUS BUTLERS_

**Act I**

The sun beats down on Wikerly Hills as, one morning soon, a cheaply-constructed coffin is lowered into the earth of a churchyard, and three butlers – Joshua Gibbons, Renato Duarte and Benjamin Gold, backed by a myriad of local immigrant mourners – watch sullenly from the sidelines as their friend and equal, Jose Sanchez, receives his final resting place. The minister says a few words, but none of them can hear him; all they can do is reflect upon the life of the man that was, and it appears to be making them more sad than happy.  
This soon changes, for when we next see the three butlers they are laughing, drunk, at the nearest bar, all huddled together in a booth as they host a miniature wake for their friend. "To Jose Sanchez," Ben announces via his slight Scottish lilt, raising his bottle of beer in order to make a private toast, "A friend… to all of us." "Here here," the other two say as they clink their bottles against Ben's, though then they exchange an awkward silence and Ben wonders what's wrong with them. "It's just… _was_  Jose really our friend?" asks the Portuguese Rena. Ben gives him a pointed gaze and Rena adds, "I mean he sat with us and laughed at our jokes, but he always seemed kinda…" "Cold," Josh agrees, speaking with an English accent. "And a friend never would have asked us to keep such a thing a secret, I think maybe we should go to the police." "What?" Ben exclaims, "Come on guys. I knew him; I worked with him. And I'm not gonna continue to sit here if you keep on insulting the memory of a dead man." "My mama did teach me never to speak ill of the dead," Rena concedes, "I'm sorry, Ben." Ben thanks him, then turning to Josh, who espouses, "I'm just saying, maybe it's the reason he was killed." Ben takes a deep sigh, telling his two friends, "Maybe so. And trust me, nothing would please me more than knowing the truth about what happened. But ignoring all that, it was Jose's business… and, I say we let it die with him." Another awkward silence, and Ben points out, "Since you guys ruined my last toast," he raises his beer bottle again, "to Jose?" As they once again raise their own bottles to meet his, joining in on the commemoration of the dead butler, the shot carries us to the next booth over, where a solitary man is drinking alone, listening in to the conversation that's taking place behind him all the while…

"Ohhh Dear Lordie Jesus Christ have mercy," an older woman exclaims, seemingly in her late 40s. "Ma, c'mon," replies the man who had been seen previously listening to the butlers' conversation.

_Joseph_

Set in a dusty, run-down trailer park on the outskirts of Wikerly Hills, Joseph DeWar is visiting Meghan Jepsen, the mother of the man arrested for Jose's murder. "It's crazy!" Meghan argues, to which Joe retaliates that it's just crazy enough to work; "You know just as well as I do that Tyson didn't kill that butler, so why shouldn't we fight for him? He doesn't stand a chance in the slammer!" She takes a moment to consider this, but then she points out that she already lost her son; she can't lose Joe too. "But this is my chance to finally get back into the force. If I crack a murder mystery like this then there's no way the W.H.P.D. would resist rehiring me... and don't you want to save Tyson?" Of course Meghan does, with all her heart, but she still doesn't understand how Joe masquerading around as a local _butler_  will do anything. "I've already got a lead," he says, "They were friends of Jose Sanchez and seem to have some dirt on him, no pun intended. If I can get into their little friend circle then maybe I can find out what Jose did that would have got him killed... and _who_  really killed him." Meghan shakes her head, still entirely unsure of this. She points out that the rich and uptrodden are a dangerous group of people, and if they so easily got away with taking out one butler then there's nothing stopping them from doing it to another. She begins to tear up; "It's in one of those fancy-shmancy neighborhoods where you were found abandoned in that damn basket. Those people are nothing but scum." Joe hands the only mother-figure he's ever had a box of Kleenex; "Which is why I'm gonna take them down. Let me save your son and I promise you won't regret it." Meghan is still a bit hesitant, but Joe finishes with, "Trust me, these butlers are more devious than they appear. If there's something to be found out, I can get it with the right price." Finally, after a moment of silence, Meghan nods, giving her blessing.

Focus on a newspaper, or, page #22, to be exact. The heading of the article reads " _B_ _utler murdered in Wikerly Hills home."_ This is seen being read by none other than Joanna Winters, who enjoys her morning glass of wine, as well as an aspirin, for breakfast. Her own butler refills her glass once it's empty.

_Joshua_

Josh looks over his boss' paper and sees that she's reading about Jose's murder. "So you've heard," he exclaims, to which Jo nods, stating that she was at the party when happened; "How tragic, really... Feel bad for whoever has to clean _that_  up." Josh goes to speak, but his other employer, Matthew, speaks up: "Yeah, that's bad, but have you seen the front page? _Actually_  church has gone up in flames... I blame those damn Muslims. If I had my way I'd be putting Ted Cruz in office this November and he'd sure preserve this country under the values our Founding Fathers built it off of." As he starts to mumble stuff under his breath, Joanna can't help but roll her eyes and down her recently refilled glass of wine; Josh sees this, and is signaled for more. As the couple then, in-sync, flip to the next page of their newspaper, Josh decides to bring up his own agenda. "So I was wondering," he starts, "is there a chance I could get the night off? I have a date and we've both been so busy; it might be the only chance we can see each other for a little while." Without looking up, Jo shrugs her shoulders, stating that she doesn't care; Matthew too, agreeing that Josh has been working pretty hard lately. Josh smiles with glee, thanking both his employers, who respond that it's no problem. However, Joanna then asks if it was the same date of Josh's she met the past Spring, which is confirmed. "He's been working overtime lately to send some money back to his family in Guadalajara." Matthew then lowers his paper and turns to his butler, raising an eyebrow. " _He_?" Josh shrugs his shoulders. "Well, yeah. My boyfriend, Juan. He's been here multiple times." Joanna can sense the change of mood in the room and gets up to grab another bottle of wine off the shelf, popping the cork to refill her own glass. Matthew points out that he's never heard of this Juan before, who has apparently been inside his home on multiple occasions. "Well, is there a problem?..." Josh asks, concerned, to which Matthew retracts his earlier blessing, stating that as it turns out he _does_  need him to work tonight. "I'm going to invite my sister over for a week or two, and I need you to prepare a suite for her in the East Wing." Having started drinking from the bottle at this point, Joanna reminds her husband that he hates his sister, and that the last time she visited she kept asking for a loan. "That's not the point," he retaliates, "The point is that Josh has work to do, and if he can't do it then he can see fit to leave." He reaches into his pocket and grabs a set of rosary beads; "Now if you will excuse me, I'm off to pray." With that, Matthew leaves a bitter Josh... and a semi-drunken Joanna.

Two actors, Elizabeth and Elijah Davis, can be seen unloading suitcases from out of the trunk of their town car, having just returned from an Italian vacation. They look toward their house and begin to approach.

_Renato_

Rena is busy dusting a shelf full of awards inside the Davis House when a blonde maid, Justine Dussault, comes up from behind and tells him, in a heavy French accent, "You can stop now." "Why, Justine? You told me to do some cleaning," Rena points out. "An hour ago, and all you do is clean the same shelves. You are hopeless," she argues, but Rena argues in turn, "I just wanna make sure that when Mr. and Mrs. Davis return, they're completely aware of how much respect I have for their distinguished career." "'Respect'…" Justine repeats, squinting, "Well put the duster down. They'll arrive any minute and we have to greet them. Make them welcome." "Fine, whatever," Rena says, rolling his eyes and discarding his feather duster, then decreasing his suit and straightening his tie as he comments to himself, "Greeting them's all I care about anyways." As he approaches a door, he stops by a mirror to neaten his hair, and Justine is now the one to roll her eyes before she hears the doorbell ring. "That must be them. I should answer," he tries, but Rena quickly exclaims, "I'll do it," and runs past her. When he opens the door, Elizabeth and Elijah Davis are standing on the other side. "Mr. and Mrs.—" Justine starts, but Rena exclaims, "Davis! Welcome home! How was Rome?" He extends his hand for them to shake and, while Elijah reluctantly shakes it, Liz just walks on past him, into the kitchen where she drops off her carrions. "Justine could you fetch the bags?" she requests, and Justine goes to do so. "Rome was great," she then says in response to the butler's question. "All was well and good until we returned for that gala and some butler was murdered. We had to spend some time at a spa just to calm ourselves down. Of course, Eli will be returning soon to start shooting the sequel to _S_ _leepless in Sicily_ ," she rolls her eyes, "I take it Justine hired you in our absence?" "Yes, she did," Rena smiles, not helping the maid carry in the heavy suitcases, "and, may I just add, I am absolutely your biggest fan. I've seen all your movies. And yours, Mr. Davis. In fact, I—" "Okay," Liz stops him, "I may have made a mistake when I answered your little question just now, but I don't make small talk with the help. I'd say I'm sorry for giving you that impression, but I also don't apologize to the help. You work for _me_ , after all." She sashays off into the next room and Elijah tells his new butler as he decides to be the one to help Justine with the suitcases, to her joy, that he must excuse his wife, for she's _still_  cranky and jetlagged from the flight. "It's fine," a slightly subdued Rena assures, "and, just so you know, I absolutely adored _Sleepless in Sicily_. You're quite the romantic lead." Elijah just smiles before following his spouse into the next room, and Justine is left staring at Rena with an angry grin. "What's up your ass, Frenchie? A snail?" Justine then drops the bags in a huff and squares up to him, saying, "I brought you into this house because you gave me impression you were hard worker. So far, I haven't seen evidence of this, but I let it slide because I do not care for the effort of hiring a new butler. But Mr. and Mrs. Davis have lots of fans; all day they answer questions, sign autographs. They do not need you being little fangirl in their own home. So pipe it down… or next week someone else will be polishing awards." She squints again, a sort of vicious smile, and Rena appears even more subdued as she leaves the room and adds as she does so, "Take the suitcases upstairs," then muttering, "Portuguese Pig." Rena is less than thrilled as he stares and sighs at his new employers' luggage.

Alison Del Barrio is in her bedroom, getting changed. Jorgio then enters the room and she covers up with the bedsheet. "Nothing I haven't violated before," he points out, saying, "Just wanted to make sure it's still here." He then opens the dressing table drawer and closes it before exiting the bedroom and working his way through the house, then walking past a particular room.

_Benjamin_

Ben is applying bleach to the hardwood floors of the Del Barrio mansion; he appears angry with himself, because he knows he's ruining the varnish, but it seems to be the only thing strong enough to finally eradicate his former co-worker's copious amounts of blood. As he scrubs against the tough, congealed redness, a tear rolls down his cheek as he's forced to once again reflect upon the fact that his friend is dead. And then, as he wipes his eye, something catches it: he looks up to see the blinking red light of a security camera, recording everything that's going on in the room. He knows there to be cameras stationed around the entire house, and so he drops his cleaning utensils into a bucket and decides to go for what he tries his best to make look like a casual wander. Really, he's headed to the surveillance room, hidden on the very same floor - one of the uppermost floors of the mansion. Seeing that his employers aren't around, he opens the door and sees the various screens that monitor different parts of the expensive home. He then looks at the stack of archived tapes and finds an organized segment for the room where Jose was murdered, all labelled and ordered by date. After all, while Ben never watches the tapes, he is the one who organizes them, but, to his surprise, there seems to be one missing. The one that should be marked for the date of Jose's death. He sighs before turning around, and a wave of shock is sent down his spine as suddenly he is face-to-face with his boss, Jorgio Del Barrio. "Benjamin…" he says in his booming, intimidating voice, "What are you doing in here?" "Mr. Del Barrio," Ben murmurs, attempting a bow but coming out with a courtesy due to the confined space he's in, "I was just… organizing the tapes and… got curious." "Curious?" "Yes, I was, um… wondering if we had a recording of Jose's death. It's just, it seems to be missing from the archives." "That tape is already in the possession of the authorities, not that they need it anymore. They already arrested somebody. And you know he did it, don't you?" Jorgio says rather insistently. Ben nods nervously. "Clearly we need to find a replacement soon. You need company Benjamin. It seems you're far too… 'curious', without it." Ben nods again, saying that he'll just leave now, and Jorgio watches as his butler goes back down the hall, returning to cleaning the room where his other butler was murdered. Jorgio then makes his way through his mansion, down part of a spiral staircase, passing another hallway and ending up in the master bedroom, where his wife Alison is sat at the dressing table. "Move," he tells her bluntly, and she does as he says, her makeup only half-complete. He then opens a drawer under the dressing table and takes out… a tape; one labelled with the date Jose died. He takes it to the bed and begins punching against the mattress, violently smashing the tape into many tiny pieces. Ali squeaks as she witnesses this display, but Jorgio then turns to her and says, "Shut up and put your makeup on, you look anemic." She nods, rushing back to the dressing table and staring at herself in the mirror. Jorgio comes up behind her and they make eye contact via their reflections, with him softly whispering into her ear, with all the elegance of a romantic, "If you breathe a word to anyone, you _will_  wind up back where you started. And that's a promise." He then walks away, and Ali, after clutching her necklace for a moment, continues trying to use cosmetics to cover up her permanently tear-stained cheeks.

**Act II**

The three butlers are next seen meeting at the local café on their lunch breaks, all in line as they await their respective coffee orders. Since the line is being held up at the front and everyone else in this place seems to be firmly invested in their own affairs, chatting or texting or otherwise, Ben decides that now is a good and safe time to mention to his friends, "I cleaned the room where Jose was murdered today and… I'm starting to think you guys are right. Mr. Del Barrio is acting _so_ shady, and I'm like ninety percent certain he's hidden the surveillance tape that recorded Jose getting murdered… he could have something to do with it." "And you thought the best time to bring this up was when I was waiting for my pumpkin latte? I'm barely even awake," Rena complains. "It's the middle of the day," Josh points out, to which Rena replies that he had to move two suitcases all the way up the stairs earlier and it exerted him more than he cares to mention, to the point that he had to take a power nap on his employers' bed while Eli was out meeting with his producers and Liz was busy day-drinking; "I wish I was her." "Guys, priorities," Ben exclaims, "I think I was wrong to dismiss you at the wake. I think it's possible that what he was doing was the reason—" "Look, Ben," Josh cuts him off, making sure to speak in a reasonably hushed tone, "Say the Del Barrios really did have something to do with it, then it's best that you just let it go. We don't want _your_  wake to be the next we attend." "You're right…" Ben nods, "I just… don't know how I'm gonna take my mind off it." "Duarte!" Justine screeches as she enters the café, storming over to her co-worker. As she stomps, granting the annoyed attention of the customers around her, Ben's vision reduces her to slow motion as, in his head, the wind blows back her hair and angels sing in her presence. It's like love at first sight, and then, to his excitement, she's standing right in front of him. Even if it is to berate one of his best friends. "Justine?" Rena questions, "What are you doing here?" "Your lunch break ended twenty minutes ago and the floor needs waxing! _Get back to work!_ " Rena sighs, telling the guys that that's his cue to leave and, as he starts to walk away, grabbing some random person's pumpkin latte from a table while they're distracted, Ben almost trips over in his attempt to halt Justine. "Hi there," he tells her, "I'm, uh, Ben." "And I'm not interested," she says bluntly, but he is too entranced by her accent to care about the semantic content of her words. He continues to stare at her with a smile and she just curls her lip before following Rena back to the Davis house. "The hell was that?" Josh asks of his buddy, who simply replies, "My future wife."

Justine opens the door to the Davis House and Rena follows her inside; she presses her finger to her pursed lips to express her desire for him to be quiet while Liz is on the phone to one of her actor friends, and then the French maid heads off to go polish the dining room silverware. "What a walking stereotype," Rena mutters under his breath, but again she presses her finger to her lips before finally exiting the room. "Okay," Liz ends her phone conversation, "I'll see you all tonight. Byyyyyyye." She hangs up. "So where are you going tonight?" Rena asks nonchalantly as he grabs a tea towel and begins to wipe down the nearby counter. "Didn't I warn you against small talk earlier?" Liz clarifies, but he tells her, "I only ask in case you want me to launder an outfit or something." "Oh," she says, "well, I don't. We're just going to the crappy downtown theater to see some crummy play. We like to sneak in our own wine and make fun of all the people who think they can act." "Sounds fun," Rena lies, and Liz smiles as she tells him, "It is." "So what play is it?" he then ponders, and she says to herself, "Well, I guess I've already fallen down the small talk rabbit hole. What the hey? Some student production of Hamlet." "Wow," Rena nods, "you know, I actually played Hamlet in high school. One of my favorite roles." "Hmmm," Liz ponders, "that almost connected to my life activities enough for me to momentarily consider you an actual person. It didn't stick, of course, but still, it was a new experience. You fancy yourself some sort of actor, I take it?" "Yes," Rena smiles, flashing his pearly white teeth, "and one day I wanna be famous just like you." "Well keep those hopes high," she encourages. "Maybe one day you'll be holding the skull at that theater. Could give us a bigger laugh than whatever college jackass they've got already." She then walks away, saying she has to go get ready to meet her friend Joanna, and Rena says to himself in response to her last statements, "Sooner than you think." Clearly he's planning something, and Justine doesn't like the look of her co-worker's expression as she re-enters the room. "What are you up to?" she demands, but he assures her, "Nothing." Still, she appears suspicious as he heads into the other room. "You know, you really should finish polishing this silver," he comments, picking up a spoon and attempting to check out his reflection in it, "These people deserve something good to look at." He gives her a snide look as she remains in the doorway, signifying that she does not fall into this category. "I'd rather take out trash," she tells herself.

Back at the Winter house, Joanna lies across a pool chair, tanning, along with Alison Del Barrio and Elizabeth Davis. On each of the gals' end tables rests a cup of tea (and a bottle of wine, in Joanna's case). Joshua stands by, burning up in the heat while dressed in his uniform. "So do you think you and Matthew will take any other trips anytime soon?" Liz asks her friend, to which Joanna replies, "I'd like to. Barbados is a beautiful island; the people though… let's just say that, with Rihanna stemming from them, I now understand why Chris Brown decided to throw her out of a moving car." Liz smirks, revealing that she’s in fact met Rihanna and would have done the same, then exclaiming that she herself would prefer to take some time off from traveling, with all that she did when supporting Eli in his latest film; "Also I've now slept with one guy from every on-location setting. Is that wrong of me?" "It'd be wrong of you not to. Everyone knows how these types of marriages work." Liz sees Joanna is making a fair point and they both turn to a silent Ali. "How are you, sweetie?" Jo asks, to which Ali gently replies that things have been better. "Right, the slaughtered butler," Liz recalls, making Ali more uneasy, "What was his name? Juan? Julio?" "Jose," Ali answers. "Riiiiight." Meanwhile, Joanna notices that her bottle is running low. "Josh," she calls out, "fetch me another?" Josh goes to do so, but Liz stops him, asking for her own glass. Josh obliges, that is, till Joanna laughs, promptly asking her friend to commit suicide; "I fed you lunch and let you use my pool, you can hold off on my booze." For the first time in forever, Ali gives a slight smirk, whereas Liz rolls her eyes.<br>  
Back inside, Josh is in the kitchen with Joanna's new wine bottle, but instead of bringing it out to his boss he is instead texting his boyfriend. Via texts, he's apologizing for not being able to meet with him tonight, revealing Matthew's instructed chores. Joanna soon makes her way into the kitchen, however, wondering what's taking Josh so long. She notices him texting and asks if something's wrong. "Well, yeah, your husband," he replies, to which Jo nods to, understanding. "Look, I just really think Juan and I share something special, but that's never going to be able to go anywhere if we can't ever see each other. I know this is my job--" but Joanna cuts him off; she doesn't approve of Matthew's orders either, having recognized he was homophobic for years. "Josh, you've been nothing but a great butler and friend to me these past couple of years and you deserve to have a night off with the man you love." "But what about Matthew?" he wonders. Joanna thinks for a moment, but then goes to one of the kitchen drawers where she pulls out and hands Josh a screwdriver. "What's this for?" he asks, confused, to which she replies that she might have an idea...

Set in the Wikerly Federal Prison, Joe has a seat at a table with a clear screen in front of him. Across, in handcuffs, comes Tyson Jepsen, escorted by a guard. As the handcuffs are removed so that Tyson can take a seat, he and Joe each reach for the respective phones so that they may speak to one another. "You hanging in there?" Joe asks, as Tyson sits, shakily. "Look, it's gonna be alright. Your mom and I, we're gonna get you out of here in no time, okay?" But Tyson shakes his head, "Wha- what if I don't make it?" he asks, "There's big, rough men back there. I... I'm scared. When we was showerin', they- they was teasin' me, tellin' me not to drop my soap. What's that even mean?" Joe sighs, simply telling his friend to just keep his back against the wall and his head down; "Don't stick your nose in other people's business; just keep to yourself." Tyson nods, and there's a moment of silence. This is broken, however, when Tyson speaks up, "You... you don't think I killed Jose, do you?" Joe shakes his head, stating that he knows Tyson is innocent; "You couldn't hurt a fly." But Tyson is still nervous; he tells Joe that all he wanted to do was see his old friend from Bible School and the next thing he knew he was stumbling out of the Del Barrio mansion with a bloodied knife. "And you have no clear memory of what happened in between then?" Tyson shakes his head.

Ali is seen walking home to her and Jorgio's mansion after her kiki with Joanna and Liz and Ben sees her approaching from inside, and so he opens the door to greet his employer. "Thank you, Ben," she smiles toward him as he enters the house, but he fails to reply because, over the Del Barrios' well-trimmed hedges, he sees Justine taking out the Davises' trash across the street, and he sees a perfect opportunity to talk to her again. As he goes to pursue said opportunity, the door shuts behind him and Jorgio, having heard it shut, enters the foyer of his mansion, demanding to know where his wife has been. "I was at the Winters' mansion," she assures. "Just… having tea." "Right," Jorgio raises an eyebrow, "and did you have anything interesting to say?" "Of course not," Ali assures, "I never do." "That's right," her husband assures. "I was gonna go prepare a tray," Ali then reveals, to which Jorgio orders, "Kiss me first." Looking nervous and reluctant, Ali leans forward and gives her husband a brief peck on the lips, to his dissatisfaction. While his face is close to hers, he makes clear, "Tonight, we're gonna try that again. You you're gonna do a lot better." She nods, asking if she may leave now, and Jorgio tells her that she is excused. As he walks away, he adds, "Don't be so nice to Benjamin in the future. We don't want a repeat of what happened with Jose." "Of course not," Ali nods, humbly making her way into the kitchen. Once her husband can no longer see her, she takes a bottle of anti-depressants from out of her pocket and swallows a handful, needing a reason to be happy right now.

**Act III**

Some of the rich kids of Fanon Drive can be seen playing soccer in the non-busy street, at the same time that Ben exits the Del Barrio grounds in order to catch Justine while she's taking out the trash, hoping to strike up a conversation with her. When she looks up, she waves, and Ben waves back… only for the shirtless gardener from next door to run on by him. _He's_  who Justine was waving at; before Ben can even register what's going, the object of his desires is flirting with the muscular Latino lawn boy of the Del Barrios' neighbors. He tells her some sort of joke it seems, for she laughs in response, and Ben practically has steam coming from his ears as he watches the scene unfold. And then… the kids' soccer ball rolls toward him, and he stops it with his foot. One of the kids sees this and exclaims, "Hey Mr.! Kick it back to us?" Ben looks from the child to the soccer ball to Justine to the gardener, and in that moment his decision is _maid_. He kicks the ball alright, but not toward the group of children; instead, his foot sends it hurtling right at the gardener, who is soon lying on the Davises' lawn after the ball bounces off his head. Justine screams, then looking to see where the sudden flying soccer ball came from, and Ben finds himself yelling, "Damn it, kids! You should not be screwing around in the street!" before rushing over to help. "Is he okay?" he asks of the gardener, already regretting his sudden act of passion, and Justine gets down to help him. "I think he might have a concussion," she reveals as the gardener groans, still conscious, and she is looking irksome. Ben gets down also so that he can offer to help move the gardener into the shade of the garden from whence he came, and Justine tells him, "Thank you! You're so thoughtful." After a pause, Ben realizes what he's caused and he forms a smile, telling her, "Yes. Yes I am." The two of them help the poor gardener to his feet and walk him back over the street, smiling to one another. The gardener just appears confused as to what's just happened.

In the East Wing of the Winter mansion, Josh is in one of the many bedrooms, changing the sheets to prepare for the supposed arrival of Matthew's sister. Strutting down the hall, however, is none other than Matthew himself, who peeks in on Josh. "How ya' doing?" he asks, to which Josh simply glares, putting on one of the pillowcases. "Look, I know you wanted to go on your date with that... _guy_ , but hey, work comes first. Maybe some other time." As Matthew goes to continue walking, Josh calls out to him, "You're a bigot, you know that?" Matthew stops in his tracks, turning back to Josh, asking that he repeat himself. "You're an ignorant, close-minded _bigot_ , and it's pretty disgusting." Matthew is clearly upset with how his butler is talking to him, but he maintains composure, understanding Josh to be upset right now. "Think what you will about me, quite frankly I don't care, but is there maybe anything I can do for you to make your night a little bit easier?" Josh looks at the bed, and back up at Matthew; he asks his boss to get another pillowcase from the hall closet, exclaiming that he's one short. Matthew nods, going back into the hall to the closet; however, what he doesn't realize is that Josh is following him. Looking in the closet, Matthew calls back, asking if Josh would prefer white or light blue, but the employer is given no time to react as Josh comes up behind him and shoves him in the closet, closing the door behind him. "Josh!" Matthew calls banging on the closet door, meanwhile inside, in the dark, reaching for a door handle only to find that there isn't one. "Josh, let me out of here right now!" With a devious grin on his face, the butler looks back to one of the end tables in the hall, where sitting on it is the missing door handle, some screws, and the screwdriver Joanna had lent him earlier. " _JOSH_!" Matthew calls out, "You are _so_  fired!" But Josh doesn't have a care in the world, for he unbuttons his coat and removes his dress pants, revealing the casual attire he plans to wear for his night away. He looks in the mirror, admiring himself for a minute, before making his way downstairs.  
Waiting in a car outside the mansion is black convertible which Josh gets into the passenger seat of. "Sorry I'm late," he exclaims, but it matters not, for his hot Latino boyfriend, Juan Castillo, plants a massive kiss on his lips. With that, the two set off.  
Meanwhile, back upstairs, Matthew is still calling out for help. "This isn't funny and it never was!" he screams. Joanna then makes her way down the hall, with a glass of wine and a magazine. Hearing someone coming, Matthew asks, "Joanna, is that you? Please help!" Joanna stops in her tracks and looks at the door with a look of boredom on her face. As Matthew bangs on the door calling for his wife, she simply takes a sip of her wine and keeps walking.

Back inside the Davis house, Liz announces, "I'm going to the theater now!" "Bye, honey!" Elijah calls from another room, "I love you!" "Whatever," she winces before finally leaving the house with her actor friends. As soon as the door closes, Rena emerges and grabs his bucket and mop, slyly mopping up around the kitchen island before casually kicking the bucket over and allowing the mop to drop to the floor, now covered in dirty water. Rena then grabs the keys to Elijah's Bentley and exits the house, justifying himself, "I was gonna have to learn to chauffeur this thing anyway." He then gets into the car and exits the driveway, following the town car that currently contains Liz and her friends, intent on getting to that theater for reasons not yet known.  
Meanwhile, Justine re-enters the Davis house after helping the gardener get some ice for the bump on his head and is taken aback immediately by the dirty mop water on the floor. "Where's Rena?" she asks herself, then noticing that the keys to the Bentley are missing. "Mr. Eli!" she screeches, and Elijah comes dashing into the room, wondering what's wrong. Before she has time to tell him, he steps in the muddy water and exclaims, "Ew! Justine, don't bother me just because you made a mess! Get to cleaning this stuff up!" "But Rena stole your car," she tries, to which Eli halts her speech and says, "You know, you should really work on that accent. Because I didn't understand a word of that." "I have to follow him," Justine exclaims, only for Eli to ask, "Follow who? Look, just clean this up please." He goes back into the other room and Justine stomps her foot, then grabbing a sponge from the sink and beginning to go to town on the floor. "Son of bitch!" she cries as she furiously absorbs the water.  
Rena continues to drive and comes to a red light. He stops, chanting, "Come on, come on," but ends up taking this opportunity to apply a little makeup.  
Liz and her actor friends take their seat in the theater, laughing and not caring that they've arrived late. When a theater usher gives them an annoyed glare, one of them just throws a handful scrunched-up fifties at him and he leaves them alone.  
Rena finally parks beside the town car and goes running into the theater.  
The actor of Hamlet is performing a scene on stage, and he stumbles over his lines, even getting one wrong. "HA!" Liz cackles.  
Rena waits for the security men to grow distracted, for they too are peeking into the theater and smirking at the bad performance, and he sneaks past them, going backstage. He finds a pile of spare costumes, seeing that the area is empty, and begins dressing exactly like the man currently on stage.  
The audience clap sarcastically as Hamlet walks off, needing his skull for the next scene.  
Rena sees the prop skull he's looking for and grabs it, then running toward the stage and hiding behind a curtain so as to not be seen when the actor walks by. The actor then starts searching for the skull, but he cannot find it.  
Rena remains behind the curtain and awaits his cue; and then, finally, he walks out onto the stage and he starts his speech, to the confusion of just about everyone. "To be or not to be," he begins, knowing the lines off by heart, "That is the question." The actors stop laughing because they are confused now, and Liz arches an eyebrow as she asks herself, "Is that?" Rena's speech goes on, and they are actually taken aback not only by the sudden change of actor and that they're looking at what appears to them as a Spanish Hamlet, but by how well-delivered the speech is, with Rena packing a surprising amount of emotion into each line. Eventually it ends and, when Rena utters that final line, "Be all my sins remembered," the audience actually stand up and clap. Even Liz gets to her feet and lazily smacks her hands together, which is her version of impressed, even if she doesn't stay standing for long.  
Backstage, the actor gives up looking for the skull and hears the audience applauding. Curious and confused, he goes out onto the stage and sees another man in his place. "Santo Deus," Rena utters when he sees the real actor, who points at him as he exclaims, "That's my skull!" As such, Rena throws it at him and runs away, to the audience's great confusion. "Sorry about that, folks," states Hamlet's portrayer, then holding out the skull and beginning, "To be or not to be, _that_  is the question…" The audience groans.  
Back home, Justine finally finishes getting the dirty water off of the floor, at the same time that the door is heard opening and Liz returns. "Mrs. Liz!" Justine immediately pounces, "You never believe what the new butler did! You're gonna want fire him!" "Why would I fire him?" Liz wonders, "He was _great_!" She laughs as she leaves the room, and then Rena follows her into the house. Justine appears greatly confused, and Rena just nods towards her, saying, "Glad to see you got everything cleaned up." He then closes the front door and tells her, "If it's all the same to you, I think I'm gonna go dust the awards. After all, I'm gonna have a shelf full of my own one day." Picking up his feather duster, he too exits the room, and Justine just spits, "Fils de pute!" In her anger, she throws down the mop and the bucketful of water ends up falling over again. "Typique," she complains, grabbing the sponge once more.

It's a new day, and Josh, Rena and Ben meet on the sidewalk of Fanon Drive, outside of each of their employers' homes. "And you just left him trapped in there?" Ben asks in disbelief, "Do you still have a job?" "Yeah," Josh responds, "Joanna saved my ass," adding on with a devious smile, quite proud of his actions. "Well if we're being honest here, I may or may not have almost put the neighbors' gardener in the hospital in order to make a move on Justine Dussault." Rena's jaw drops as he laughs; "That was _you_? Justine said it was some neighborhood brat. Way to go!" and they high five. "In the meantime, I think Liz is warming up to me. I only ever took this job to get my career off the ground and after my performance last night it looks like things are finally taking a turn for the right direction." Josh and Ben are happy for their friend, with the three of them realizing that light seems to be finally shining through since Jose's passing. "Yunno, that devious butler Jose may be dead, but I'm glad the three of us will always be together," Josh exclaims, which the other two agree to. It's then that a certain car passes them, the driver of which gives a slight nod to the three butlers. The butlers do so in return, but go back to conversing, not noticing that the car is turning in to the Del Barrios' driveway.

Joseph DeWar steps from his car and looks up at the large mansion Jose Sanchez was murdered in. He takes in a deep breath and exhales, proceeding to make his way to the front door. He rings the doorbell, and soon enough Alison Del Barrio answers. "May I help you?" she asks cautiously. "I'm here to apply for the open butler position," he replies, with a smile on his face. Ali studies the man at her door, and something is telling her that he is no ordinary butler. "Please, come in," she says, opening the door to motion Joe inside. At that moment Mrs. Del Barrio realizes... things are about to change in Wikerly Hills.


End file.
